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LDP Plan Strategy Independent Examination (IE) has concluded

8th November 2023

The Independent Examination (IE) hearing sessions for the Council’s LDP draft Plan Strategy took place over four weeks between 5th September and 4th October 2023, conducted by Commissioner O’Neill of the Planning Appeals Commission (PAC).

The details of the IE, including its Examination Library and Matters Arising, can be viewed on the PAC website here.  In particular, the PAC Examination Closing Notes state that the Commissioner expects to deliver the IE Report to the DfI Regional Planning team by April 2024.

The Council’s overall Timetable for producing the LDP can be viewed on this LDP webpage here. It anticipates that the Council will receive the IE Report and LDP Plan Strategy Direction from DfI in the summer of 2024, followed by Adoption of the LDP Plan Strategy by the end of 2024 or early 2025. The Council’s Planning LDP team is currently doing the initial work tasks required for the Adoption and implementation of the LDP Plan Strategy, as well as the preparatory work on the LDP Local Policies Plan (LPP). The Local Policies Plan is required to be ‘consistent’ with the adopted LDP Plan Strategy.

LDP Independent Examination (IE) commences on 5th September 2023

4th September 2023

The Local Development Plan Team formally Submitted the Derry City & Strabane District Local Development Plan (LDP 2032) – draft Plan Strategy and supporting documents to the Department for Infrastructure (DfI) on 26th May 2022 as part of the Independent Examination (IE) process. All LDP Submission documents can be viewed here.  They are also available for inspection during normal office opening hours, by appointment only, at the Council's two main offices in Derry and Strabane.

Following the Submission of the LDP draft Plan Strategy in May, the Department considered it, to check it is procedurally ‘sound’, that there were no obvious gaps in the evidence base and it was not fundamentally flawed in relation to its regional context. The Council received a letter from DfI Planning on 20th September 2022, stating that the Submission had successfully passed its initial checks, so it would be writing to the Planning Appeals Commission (PAC) to ‘cause an Independent Examination’. The Council made the documents available to the PAC, who appointed a Programme Officer – who undertook their assessment of the documents. The PAC appointed Senior Commissioner Diane O’Neill to undertake the Independent Examination (IE) of our LDP dPS. This IE will be the next step towards adoption of the LDP Plan Strategy.

The Commissioner will begin the LDP Independent Examination’s public hearing sessions at 10.30am on 5th September 2023 for an initial two-week period (of approx. 5 weeks in total), with sessions being conducted remotely. These sessions will be available for the public to stream live on YouTube. A link to the stream is available on the Planning Appeals Commission’s website here Independent Examination of Local Development Plans - Derry City & Strabane District Council | Planning Appeals Commission (pacni.gov.uk).

The IE questions and programme, the PAC ‘Guidance Notes for Participants’ and a procedural document are available on the PAC website (DCS Examination Library) at DCS Examination Library | Planning Appeals Commission (pacni.gov.uk).  

The Council and the PAC are both making arrangements for the IE, including the statutory requirements of the Regulations. In accordance with Regulation 22 of the Planning (LDP) Regulations (NI) 2015. Interested LDP stakeholders have been written to. 


WHO WE ARE?

On 1st April 2015, Planning powers transferred from the Department of the Environment (DOE) to the Derry City and Strabane District Council. 

The Council now also has powers of Local Development Plan (LDP), Development Management and Enforcement which it will implement in cases where planning laws have been breached.

The LDP Team, together with senior Council officers and the elected Members of the Council (Planning Committee), are responsible for producing the LDP for our District.

WHAT IS LDP?

The purpose of the Derry City and Strabane District LDP, is to inform the general public, statutory authorities, developers and other interested bodies of the policy framework and land use proposals that will implement the strategic objectives of the Regional Development Strategy and guide development decisions within Derry City and Strabane District up to 2032.

Our new LDP will be prepared within the context of the Council’s Corporate Plan and will co-ordinate with the Community Planning process to enable us to plan positively for the future of our District. It will ensure that lands are appropriately zoned and that our infrastructure is enhanced to develop the District for future generations.

The LDP must also take account of the regional policy context set by the Northern Ireland Executive and Central Government Departments. This includes, amongst others, the Sustainable Development Strategy, Regional Development Strategy and the Strategic Planning Policy Statement - published in September 2015.

The LDP will comprise two separate documents that will shape development within our District over the period to 2032   

  1. The Plan Strategy

  2. The Local Policies Plan

THE LDP TIMETABLE, REVISED JULY 2023

The LDP Timetable has been formally revised, advertised and published in July 2023. The Timetable sets out Derry City and Strabane District Council's programme for the production of its Local Development Plan (LDP 2032) and includes details of the key stages in the process.

This Revised LDP Timetable was approved by the Council and DfI; it anticipates holding the Independent Examination (IE) of the LDP draft Plan Strategy during September and October 2023.

View the Local Development Plan (LDP) Timetable Revision 2023

The LDP will, on adoption of both its component plan documents, replace the Strabane Area Plan  2001 and the Derry Area Plan 2011 and the suite of Planning Policy Statements (PPS’s) that were produced by the Department of the Environment.

See current NI Planning Policy Statements: 

https://www.infrastructure-ni.gov.uk/publications/retained-planning-policy

See current NI Planning Guidance documents:

 https://www.infrastructure-ni.gov.uk/topics/planning/planning-guidance

See Strategic Planning Policy Statement for NI (SPPS):

 https://www.infrastructure-ni.gov.uk/publications/strategic-planning-policy-statement

See Regional Development Strategy for NI (RDS 2035): 

https://www.infrastructure-ni.gov.uk/articles/regional-planning

See current NI Planning Legislation:

 https://www.infrastructure-ni.gov.uk/articles/current-planning-legislation

 

VIEW OUR DISTRICT’S CURRENT AREA PLANS

Until such times as the LDP is adopted, the relevant Area Plans currently applicable to our District are the Derry Area Plan 2011, adopted in May 2000 and the Strabane Area Plan 2001, adopted in April 1991.

Click on the following link to view an online version of the Derry Area Plan and its associated documents.  

Click on the following link to view an online version of the Derry Area Plan 2011, Designated Flat Zone Map – FL1.

Click on the following pdf to view an online version of the Strabane Area Plan.

MONITORING

The Council monitors the amount of housing land and number of units built together with the amount of economic land across the District as well as various environmental indicators. The annual Housing Monitor tracks the progress of housing completions across the District and provides the basis for informing how and where best to distribute housing across the settlement hierarchy. 

Housing Monitor sites are those which are identified as potentially suitable for residential development in prevailing development plans through zonings and any other urban sites that have been granted planning permission for residential development. Therefore, the Housing Monitor only relates to sites on zoned Housing land and planning approvals and is only within the respective settlement limits. 

The Council’s ongoing monitoring will contribute towards the legislative obligations to prepare an Annual Monitoring Report (AMR) which must contain information on the extent to which the objectives of the LDP are being achieved.  

The purpose of the Housing Monitor is to:

  • Monitor the course of housing development in settlements with regard to the Regional Development Strategy (RDS);

  • Monitor progress of housing developments in settlements in accordance with the provisions of prevailing Development Plans;

  • Inform the preparation of our new LDP with regard to the allocation of land for housing; and 

  • Provide information on the available potential for further housing development in settlements. 

A copy of the Council's Housing Monitor for the 2022-2023 period can be accessed below:

A copy of the Council's Housing Monitor for the 2021-2022 period can be accessed below: 

A copy of the Council's Housing Monitor for the 2019-2021 period can be accessed below: 

A copy of the Council’s Housing Monitor for the 2018 – 19 period can be accessed below.

A copy of the Council’s Housing Monitor for the 2014- 17 period can be accessed below.

Disclaimer

Please note that the NILUD database was set up for the former Derry City and Strabane District Councils – so the earlier reports are still presented on this basis. 

Data contained in these Monitors is derived from planning permissions and from Building Control completions data through Land and Property Services (LPS).  

Derry City & Strabane District Council provides no warranty in relation to the accuracy for the information contained within these Monitors. Any person placing reliance on this data does so at their own risk.

 

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